The Color Red
by Hiyokoi1864
Summary: He kept seeing red.


"Hokage- sama! Good afternoon.~" A stall owner called towards the blonde man walking pass, "I hope your day is going well?"

Minato paused in his step and turned a smile towards the older woman, "Good afternoon. And it's going fine. Have a good day!" He waved and continued walking. Many people halted their rushing to greet him, which he returned happily. Many children and young adults can be seen walking around and enjoying their lives. Seeing the happy smiles on the villagers' faces makes him happy, knowing he's doing something right.

Minato was suddenly halted; almost forcibly. Looking down to his legs in confusion, his blue eyes met two children who were clinging onto his legs. A little girl on his left, a little boy on his right. Well..

"Minato- sama see's us.." The girl whispered to the girl, "What are we going to do?"

"Don't back out now. Just try to blend in.." The boy whispered back. She nodded and tightened her hold on the muscular leg and giggled quietly. The boy did the same and grinned widely, both trying their hardest not to look up to the face of the grown man.

Minato blinked for a moment before grinning softly. Standing straight, he decided to pretend nothing happen; that there aren't two children latched onto his legs. As he walked down the street, he couldn't help but chuckle hearing the gleeful giggles coming from below him. Many women _aw_'d at the sight of him casually marching pass, and many others smiled.

"Hokage- sama..!" A young woman laughed as she walking up to him. She looked down to the children before she leaned closer towards his face, "You _do _realize my children are on your legs, right?" She whispered apologetically.

"Mom's here.." The boy whispered.

"Oh no." The girl hid her face behind Minato's leg, trying to become unseen.

"It's alright." He said, shrugging to the woman.

She sighed and set her hands on her hips, "C'mon you two. Let's leave him alone, alright?" She said, looking down to the two kids. The boy abruptly released his hold, making him fall backwards to the ground roughly. The little girl slowly stood to her feet and walked around to her mother, head bowed down slightly.

Minato scoffed at their dejected faces and kneeled down, "You guys did nothing wrong." He smiled, "It was fun." The girl looked up and smiled brightly. Taking the small rose she had on her ear, she handed it to him, "Huh? What's this?" Minato asked, slowly taking the plant in his hand.

"I got that for you earlier because I heard you love the color red." She smiled reaching up and taking her mother's hand in hers. The small family gave him a smile before they turned around and walked away.

Minato stood up and looked over the flower in his hand. Yes, he adores the color; he always has. It's a beautiful color that represents many things. Smiling at the small gift from the girl, he looked up to the sun, seeing it was well pass noon. He slumped his head back down and pouted a little, knowing he probably has more paperwork.

"Minato- sama!" An elder man waved from the side of him, "_Smile_. The day's still young." Minato turned to the man and smiled widely and gave him a wave before he turned on his heel to make his way back to his office. Passing the ramen stall, something red caught his eye. _Hair? _He nearly stumbled in his stop. _A woman? _His eyes widen when she stood up from her seat. Time seemed to slow as he waited for her to turn around. And when she was about to…

"Minato!" He was suddenly wacked beside the head, making him wobble, "What are you doing in the middle of the street?" _Jiraiya- sensei.._ Minato grumbled as the large man got in his line of view. Shoving the man aside and causing him to crash into a wagon of cabbages, Minato saw that the woman wasn't there anymore.

His eye twitched in annoyance.

"WHAT THE HELL, MINATO?!" Jiraiya started shouting. Minato spun around and faced the man, and gave him a grim look.

"_Why_?" He asked. Not bothering to let the man answer or protest, he flashed off and transported himself in his office. He stomped over and plopped into his seat behind his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. Steam can be seen radiating off the Hokage's head, and the people who have paid him a visit in his office very well noticed the sudden mood he was in.

_Who was she?_

…

"Good night, Minato- sama. I hope you have a good rest of the night." His assistant bowed in front of him, about to take his leave. Minato narrowed his eyes and dully blew a long raspberry to him. The man laughed, amused a little and closed the office door behind him.

Minato stuck his bottom lip out and turned his chair around to the big window behind him. This night was almost silent. A dog can be heard barking in the distance and only very few people can be seen wandering the streets. Sighing, he set his elbow on the arm rest and leaned his chin in his hand. _Still have loads of work.. _His train of thought was cut when a speck of red caught the corner of his eye. There, walking down the dim lit street with her back towards him was the woman he saw earlier.

Gasping, he shot up. Maybe a little_ too_ quickly, because he smashed his face into the window and fell over. Ignoring the stinging of his nose, he stood back up to his feet and looked back out the window. Only to find that she wasn't there.

_What? _Well, if she's a ninja, it could be explainable. He furrowed his eyebrows and slumped back down in his chair. Shaking his head, he turned back around to his desk to finish this troublesome paperwork.

* * *

"Minato- sensei, are you sure you can't come with us?" Obito asked.

"Obito, Minato- sensei is the Hokage. He can't just _leave_." Rin said.

"I hope you guys a safe trip there and back." Minato grinned. They were standing at the Konoha gates and he was about to see his students off on a mission, "Remember Obito, _Kakashi_ is in charge." He said sternly.

"Well, see you Sensei!" Rin waved as the three of them took off. Minato waved and watched them until they hoped to the trees and disappeared from his view. He took a deep breath and sighed and turned around towards the village.

"They'll be gone for a few days.." He mumbled as he walked through the crowds of people. _Let's see.. _He diverted his gaze downward, _I have the genin teams to take care of.. Also assign jounin to their teams.-_

"Hey, Minato!" Jiraiya called out, walking up to him. "You freaking _brat_. If I try talking to you, will you push me again?" He asked.

Minato raised an eye brow, "No."

"Whatever. Have you seen Tsunade?" He asked. Minato shook his head, "Damn woman.." Jiraiya grumbled and walked away.

"Uh..Oh." Minato mentally shook himself and resumed his walking. _Genin, jounin, teams. More paperwork. _He scowled and ran his hand down his face with that thought in mind. Sometimes the young Hokage wants to take a lit torch to the papers and scrolls he has to go through every day. Snorting at the absurd way of taking care of things, he turned his attention to a familiar little girl who was walking up to him from the side.

"Mi- Minato- sama.." She looked down to the poorly wrapped gift in her hands and frowned, "This is for you.." Minato blinked at the little object she was holding up towards him. Taking in her saddened face, he kneeled down and got to her head level.

"What is it?" He asked, taking the small box wrapped in red paper in his hands.

"I-" She sighed, "I made clay figures for many of the shop owners I visit a lot. But, they didn't turn out good." She mumbled.

His eyebrows went up as he started to unwrap the box. Once the red paper was out of the way, he slipped the hand held box open and looked inside. He smiled, seeing a lumpy, small version of himself.

"I tried.. I wasn't going to give it to you, but you seemed to be having a rough day, so.." Her foot kicked a small pebble and her head was bowed low, only giving him her head to look at.

"I love it." He stated, causing her to snap her head up. "It's cute. This will have a special spot at home." He smiled, "What do you think?"

"Really?! Are you sure?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yeah! I _really _love this." He yelped when he was suddenly pulled into a tight, small hug.

"Thank you!" She squealed.

"No, thank _you_." He said, patting her head and standing up. Looking ahead from the girl, his sight caught the back of a woman, long red hair cascading down her back. Eyes widening, he bid a quick farewell to the child before he rushed into the crowd. When he was starting to lose sight of her, he jumped to the roof tops. "Where..?" Scanning the heads of people, he found no red head in the crowds. Now he was on the verge of getting confused. Does she vanish at certain times of the day? Is she a ghost who is mocking or tormenting him for enjoyment?

Stepping off the roof, he looked around the people once more before giving up. _Alrighty then. _Turning to his side, he was met with the ramen stall he first saw her in. Walking up towards it, he poked his head in and looked around.

"Hokage- sama?" A man questioned from behind the counter, "Oh! Good morning!" He greeted joyfully.

"Hello!" He waved, stepping inside, "I would like to ask you something, if that's alright."

"Of course." He smiled.

"Do you by any chance remember a woman who was in her a few days ago? She has long red hair, and she was wearing a green dress.."

The man paused for a moment to think, raising an eyebrow towards the ceiling, "A few days ago, eh? Hm.."

"It's ok if you don't. You probably have a busy business going on here."

"Ah! You mean Kush-"

"Minato!" Tsunade popped up beside him and threw her arm over his shoulder, "Have you seen Jiraiya?"

_Wow_, Tsunade. Total cock block there.

Minato chuckled and looked down to the woman, "I saw him not so long ago. He was actually looking for you."

"What? Really? Help me find him then!" She grabbed the collar of his vest and pulled him out of the stand. Minato managed a thankful salute to the stand owner before he was pulled down the street. _So close._

"Uh, Tsunade- san." Minato piped up, holding his index finger in the air. "The hot springs are in the other direction.."

There was a moment of silence as the woman took in what he just said.

"Thank you!" She turned around towards him a smiled widely, "Have a good day, Mr. _Hokage." _She teased before stomping in the direction of the hot springs. Minato sighed as he watched her turn a corner. He looked at his mini, lumpy self he was holding in his hand and grinned. Turning, he headed towards the direction of his office, but stopped hearing a loud crashing in the distance.

_What was that?_ He jumped to the roofs and looked over the opposite side, seeing a man laying in what _use _to be a stand.

"I thought she was going to kill me!"

With that, Minato jumped down and walked over to the man and helped him to his feet, "Everything ok? What happen?" He asked.

"This numbskull was being a bully." Another man said as he stepped over. "I don't blame her for hitting you."

"What exactly..?" Minato raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips, "What did you do to this girl?" Seeing how he wasn't going to answer, he turned to the one who witnessed it. The man sighed and glared at the one at fault as he answered Minato.

"He was putting her down about her hair." With that, he drug him off. Minato looked at the broken stand in thought. Must have been a strong woman to cause this mess. _I'll have to look into this later.. _He walked off towards his office, mind thinking about the repairs that the owner of that stand will need.

* * *

It was a very late hour of the night and Minato just left the office. Usually, he'd simply transport himself home, but he wanted to take some time in reading this book Jiraiya had given him. He had a few scrolls and paper packets tucked under his arm and his eyes glued to the pages as he walked. His attention wasn't on where he was walking, knowing that the street looked nearly deserted. Suddenly, he bumped into someone, making all his paperwork go to his feet.

"Oh, I greatly apologize. I wasn't paying attention." He bent down to gather his belongings, not thinking much of the feminine hands, small compared to his, that came in his few and helped him pick them up.

"It's okay." He heard a sniffle, "I wasn't watching either.." _Was this lady crying?_ With his head still bowed down, he accepted the things she handed to him and tucked them back under his arm as they both stood back up. Looking up to thank her, he nearly fell over seeing the long red hair. She had turned her back to him to walk away, her fist clutched to her sides. He wanted to voice out to her, but his voice seemed to have left with her.

_Thank you..._

* * *

"We're back!" Obito and Rin sang as they ran up to Minato on the streets, Kakashi somewhere behind.

"Welcome back, you guys. Good job!" Minato smiled, rolling up a scroll and setting it in his vest pocket. The sun was setting and he's taking his paper work home to do since he doesn't need to assign any missions at the moment. People were starting to go inside or were getting bites to eat. Kakashi walked up and started filling him in on the mission detailes as Minato walked them home. After Obito and Rin had gone home, Minato waved Kakashi off as he walked to his door step and went inside. Minato sighed and pulled out the book Jiraiya had given him. He hasn't gotten very far because of work.

_Naruto? Isn't that a fish cake? _He questioned as he walked down the street, keeping his nose in the book. Finally deciding to put the book down for the moment after he nearly walked into a pole, he paused and looked around. Up ahead, in the direction the sun was setting in, was the red hair he's been searching for. He hesitated, thinking back at all the times she vanished before he could call out. A small gust of wind picked up, making his cloak swing slightly.

The way her red strains swayed and the way she walked seemed to draw him in. Abandoning any hesitation he had, he began to walk forward.

Red; There's many things this color stands for. Love, lust, want, beauty. Many things.

As he inched closer, he reached his hand out to grab her shoulder.

Most people look at it as the color of blood. Or, red- habaneros. Even tomatoes.

Once his hand softly touched her shoulder, she spun around to face him. His eyes widen as he watched the red hair swing around and her violet eyes come to view. Her hand was clutched into a fist above her chest and a look of surprise in her features, a hint of pain in her eyes. He was at loss of words at the sight before him.

But mostly, red is one thing..

He ran the red strains through his fingers, eyes still locked with hers. The voice that had left with her that night seemed to have made it's way back to him. He watched as she bit her lip and gripped her fist tighter before he put his gaping mouth to use.

"Beautiful.."


End file.
